Sketching-People

CHARACTER BLOCKING
Character blocking is how people are staged in relation to each
other. At its most basic, character blocking is always between
two people. Even if additional characters are in the scene, each
pair is blocked individually. The only exception is where there
is a distinct contrast between your main character and a group;
for example, in a scene with a protester standing in front of
a line of riot police, the protester could be blocked in relation
to the group of police as a single whole.
Although it is impossible to represent all possibilities,
these four pages show some of the most common variations
in character blocking. Positioning the characters will be
combined with vantage point and proximity.
FACING AWAY
When two people are together but are facing in
opposite directions, they are often attempting to
shut the other person out without abandoning
them completely. It’s a way to hide emotions
by not showing facial expressions and body
language. Your characters don’t have to be backto-back
to express this emotional distance, just
looking away from each other is enough.
FACING
Whether they are sitting across the table
from each other at a relaxed dinner or standing
toe-to-toe in a confrontational argument, people
who are facing each other are focusing their
attention on just one other person.